How Do You Like My Habit?
by naturally morbid
Summary: One-shot. 1st in my Abel x Esther series of one-shots. "Esther!" he called again. His voice was growing thick with worry. He turned another corner, standing still, trying to listen for another voice.


Author's Note: Okay, so I know that I should probably be working on Element of Surprise or homework, but this was on my mind all day at school and I found myself typing it up before I knew it. This is my first Abel x Esther so I'm kind of nervous. I'm kind of using the time period from the manga with it being summer and her just finishing training, just incase you wanted to know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or it's characters.

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How Do You Like My Habit?

"Esther?" Abel yelled around a corner in the maze. It seemed that the young red-headed woman had run off again, just when he had been ready to talk to her. He feared he was just as lost in the maze as she was. "Esther?" he called again. He also feared something terrible had happened to her. They both had the same affinity for getting into mischief.

From between the tall shrubbery, he could hear a stifled giggle. He surged forward into the sharp sunlight of the afternoon, heading for the end of the lane he was in. He turned the corner to the left instead of the right and hoped that he find the one that giggle belonged to. It sounded like Esther.

"Esther? Please, this cruel!" he shouted. It wouldn't be the first time he was left out of something on purpose.

His silvery-blond hair caught the rays of the sun, sparkling in her eyes. He looked so confused and she tried not to giggle any louder. She made sure that he would follow her into the maze, so that she could trap him and force him to look at her.

"Esther!" he called again. His voice was growing thick with worry. He turned another corner, standing still, trying to listen for another voice. He felt the shrubbery was pressing in on him. "Esther, please! This isn't funny! Esther?"

She bit her thin lower lip to keep from giggling. Watching the father run around was more fun than she remembered. He sat down and huffed. He looked so adorable that her giggles were now just restrained but she was having to bite her hand.

"Esther! Please!" he whined. She giggled and watched his head perk up. "Esther?" He rose up and headed for her direction, realizing that he must have made a wrong turn. She gasped and rose out of her squatting position. She made it just to the end of the lane before he spotted her. "Esther!" he shouted as he pointed.

"No!" she laughed as she took off running. She picked up the white skirts and let him give chase. It was a nice summer day at the Vatican.

Abel could see her silky red hair fly in the self-made wind as she ran through the maze just ahead of him. Now that he knew it was her, it would be time for repayment. When he caught her...His own hair was pulling free of it's confines. What was she leading him on for anyway?

"Esther! Stop, please! It's hot out here. I'm wearing all black," he moaned as he tugged at the robes, which were darkening with sweat. His hair was starting to stick to the back of his neck as he glasses slid down his nose.

"No!" she called back to him. She was looking for the gazebo for them to sit under. She just hoped that she wasn't so sweaty by the time he saw her.

"Esther!" he whined. "But, I haven't had any tea in hours and I think I'm gonna pass out."

"You'll be fine," she laughed as she continued running through the tall shrubbery. She remembered when she had been lost looking for Noelle and ended up meeting the Pope instead. It wasn't so long ago, but it felt that way now as she tried to find that gazebo. She turned around to see how far back he was. "Eek!" she shouted as she realized he was closer than he had been before.

"Esther! This is torture! Please stop!" he called again. He couldn't keep the grin off his face.

There it was, the gazebo she had been looking for. Always right there when you needed it. She ducked inside, feeling the shade peel about twenty degrees off her skin. She tried to adjust her habit. She had wanted it to stay nice and fresh for the father to see her in it before any missions.

She sighed as she sat down on the bench and waited for him to stumble in. Her red hair stuck to her pale skin but she couldn't resist laughing about Abel.

"Esther, what was all the running about?" he panted as he collapsed in the seat across from her. His glasses were resting on his chest, his hair curled messily around his face, and sweat dripping.

"Well, I wanted you to see me most of all," she told him with a sly grin.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he fumbled around for his glasses.

"My new habit," she told him proudly as she stood and turned around lightly. Abel had his glasses back on, watching her. It was the white habit, symbolizing her finished training. Abel could look at her as a co-worker now instead of just a trainee or the lost girl from Istvan. "Do you like my new habit?" she asked him with an innocent smile.

"Y-yes, I do. Very much," he told her, his icy blue eyes making their way over her figure. "It looks perfect." All of his thoughts about repayment were burned in an instant.

"Thank you!" she told him, before she dashed off again. "I have to go show everyone else. Oh and one more thing, that's _Sister_ Esther now," she grinned.

Abel sighed and leaned his head back. She had grown up considerably in the training program. She was now a woman, whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not, not that she was ever a child. He watched her retreating figure in the maze.

He should have said the words that were burning his lips, the ones that had been burning within his soul since they had met. The words that could lead things deeper or break them off right away. Three little words that were the hardest words anyone ever had to admit to, or come to the conclusion on, or think about. Yet, he thought about them all the time. He thought about how he should say them to her.

He watched her until he could no longer see her, no longer hear her laugh. He watched her until she was out of his grasp, like always, before he said the words to the hot air.

"_I love you."_

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So, was it any good? I won't know until someone tells me. 


End file.
